South West's farming income falls by £293m as NFU warns government not to 'walk out' on industry

Farming income across the South West fell by almost £300 million last year, as the National Farmers' Union warns the government not to "walk out" on the industry with budget cuts.

New government figures reveal that while the South West region remains one of the largest contributors to England's farming income, the sector made £631 million last year. compared to £924 million in 2022.

It comes as the industry prepares itself for the possibility of a cut to the annual lumpsum for farming when Rachel Reeves delivers her Autumn Budget later this month.

Farmers are also concerned about the future of the Farming Recovery Fund, which was introduced by the previous Conservative government earlier this year in response to Storm Henk in January.

According to the latest income figures, crop output in the South West fell by 18% last year, totalling a drop of £258 million from the previous year.

But the region remains one of the largest contributors to England's total income from farming, providing 18% last year.

The president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU) told ITV West Country: "At the moment we are at this absolutely pivotal time, where the government can build the confidence (of farmers) and say we're with you, we know what you deliver for the country, or you can walk away from us."

The Labour Party committed less than one page to farming in its nearly 140-page election manifesto, but the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted that he is "listening good and hard" to farmers and is "acutely aware" of the challenges they are facing.

His new government has made a commitment to ensure half of all food purchased across the public sector will be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards, and the Party has said it will continue with Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes.

But the PM has repeatedly refused to rule out cutting the annual budget for Farmers in England, despite calls from the NFU and other industry bodies to increase it from £2.4bn a year for England to £4bn.

Keir Starmer refuses to rule out cutting the annual farming budget on 30th October.

"The manifestos, they're now history. We will judge them (the government) on 30th October and that is the date that really is going to demonstrate the government's support for the farming industry or otherwise," says Tom Bradshaw.

"What I'd say to the government now is, we see the challenges around the world, whether that be war in Eastern Europe, the Middle East as it is today, climate change taking hold. We have 70 million people living on an island here, we need a plan for how we are going to feed those 70 million people, and that requires investment from the government.

"We can't continue to deliver off investments from previous generations. We are on an absolute tipping point."

The NFU says the dairy sector in the South West has "been through a very difficult 18 months, with the price they're receiving below the cost of production."

"Many of these businesses need to make very significant investments just to stay up to date with the environmental legislation," the union says.

"They can't do that without that funding coming forwards, either through a fair milk price or government support. It's got to come from somewhere."

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